March 13th, 2020 was much more than your standard Friday the 13th. We were just over a week out from making a most difficult decision to cancel our annual user conference Connections 2020, inundated with information about just what exactly COVID-19 was, and overall just scrambling. I had no idea I’d be sitting here writing this a year later from home, where the vast majority of iPipeline employees have spent every working day. A lot has evolved since those early days- vaccinations continue to be developed and deployed, and there’s hope that we’ll have some sense of normalcy by the summertime.

From the beginning when we chose to take Connections 2020 virtual, it was always about the protection of our Pipers, their families, and our customers. We were able to pivot to a great alternative to hosting an in-person conference, and were met with overwhelming positivity. I’m personally proud of our ability to continue to radiate that positivity throughout our industry by offering assistance with e-Apps, e-Delivery, and e-Signature. Our end goal has always been (and will continue to be) to help our customers secure the financial futures of families. As we’ve continued to operate in a remote environment, I’ve seen just how resilient our work family is, stepping up whenever and wherever needed with the drive to help our industry adapt to doing business online. Business that has provided policies which have hopefully given families peace of mind as they weathered employment uncertainties and in many cases loss of group life insurance.

Much like the pandemic, in our industry we can’t ever truly go back to ‘the way things were’. So internally throughout this past year we’ve been hard at work, beginning by bolstering our team with key executive additions. We’ve made acquisitions that further enhance and expand our platform and reach. And we’ve partnered with companies who strengthen our ties to data analytics, AI, and behavioral intelligence.

We’ve put in all this work to help facilitate and progress digital adoption, and I’m excited for what lies ahead. We may not quite be at the end of the tunnel, but there’s a light on the horizon. The work from our homes marches on into spring and we are ready for normalcy to return.